When we moved into the location in Aggieville, I brought our old espresso machine into the shop. I was hoping it was still operational after sitting in storage for over six months. Sadly, it was not. I wasn’t super happy with that machine anyway, but I needed a working espresso machine so that I could serve customers.
For over two years I’ve wanted a Decent Espresso machine. Yes, that is the company name. Yes, I love the word play. I loved the fact that the machine is completely portable and I could get a 110v version that has all the features I really needed, along with the warranty to cover hard use.
The most appealing part of getting a Decent machine is their warranty, and how they handle it. I have a background in being a trained Naval Nuclear Reactor Operator. This means, I’m familiar with electronics and replacing components on electronics, along with some basic mechanical training and understanding heat transfer and fluid flow. This means that I could potentially troubleshoot and repair my espresso machines myself, if given the correct technical manuals. After speaking with a Decent Espresso representative, I found out that, yes, I could potentially repair my machine myself.
With the potential heavy volume of a coffee business, this is critical. The cost savings from not having to pay a technician to come out and diagnose the problem or installing the machine is huge. It also reduces the potential downtime of the machine if it does break. Best of all, if it isn’t something I can fix myself, I can pack it up in its suitcase and ship it back to Decent for repairs by the people who made it.
With this preface, I have had almost two years of making espresso drinks now on a couple of different machines. I worked hard to figure out a good recipe for my customers and a process to make sure that my drinks were consistent on either of the machines I’ve used. A lot of my processes were inspired by the Decent team, which has made using the DE1XL even easier.
So far, Decent Espresso, and the DE1XL, have exceeded my expectations. The ease of pulling shots for my customers has been great. The Decent community has been welcoming and helpful. The machine is beautiful (to me), with a carrying case that is insanely engineered. It is impressive in how well it protects the espresso machine. There is a video of them dropping a loaded Decent suitcase down some stairs or something to prove the point.
Because the DE1XL lives at the shop, currently, I haven’t had that much time to play with pulling espresso shots for non-milk based drinks. I also need a bit more practice, and maybe some smaller steam pitchers, to fine tune the milk steaming. I’m too busy with other things while the shop is open, and I haven’t tried to take it home again for practice. I do have to say that it is extremely easy to use, if you already have some experience with measuring out the beans and dialing in a grind setting.
My next step is getting my espresso cart working fully so that we can do espresso catering events. This will be the true test, as I have previous experience using the Breville Barista Express at an event. I’ll post an update once I’ve got some more time with my Decent and pictures of my mobile unit once it’s working.